When I reviewed the new Wyze Cam Pan – Link down below and suggested that I’ll be doing a comparison video between this 30 dollar camera to other pan and tilt cameras in the near future, Reolink got in touch with me and wanted me to check out their own pan and tilt camera and suggested that I am more than welcome to include it in my comparison video. The more the better, so I said yes and they sent me their C1 Pro Camera.
When it came in, I was reading the specs and features and I realized this is not a 1080p camera. This is a 4MP HD camera which is 2560 x 1440. This is basically the same resolution to my Reolink NVR PoE system which I am currently using. This is the first WiFi camera that I have checked out that the resolution is more than 1080p.
Aside from the resolution, let’s check out the other features.
This camera is dual band and can connect to a 2.4 Ghz or to a 5 Ghz WiFi. It is pan and tilt which can pan up to 355° and tilt up to 105°
It has real time alerts which can be by push notification, email or both. It stores footage to the micro SD card or you can set it up to upload to an FTP server.
There is no need for a monthly cloud subscription.
For now, It will be the micro SD card option but I will be checking out the FTP option later on..I’m assuming that it can upload the footage to an NVR system.
It has 2 way audio and has night vision up to 40 ft.
As I said earlier this is a 4MP camera which is higher resolution than a 1080p and the frames per second is adjustable from 2 to 30 fps.
You can view the camera through the app but also can be setup to view from your computer using their client software. This is the software that is also used with their NVR systems.
The camera can also be accessed via a web browser but you will need to know your IP address and port information. This is a more involved process.
Reolink C1 Pro Camera – shrsl.com/10vz9
amzn.to/2lBkkcc
Wyze Cam Pan Review – youtu.be/pHakrcXpeKs
So, let’s open up the box.
We have the quick start guide.
A what’s nest flyer.
An installation template.
And a window sticker.
We also have the installation screws and the reset tool.
We an ethernet cable which is needed to initally setup the camera.
Then we have the micro USB cable for the power supply.
A camera bracket if you want to install this to a wall or a ceiling.
And a power adapter.
Then we have the camera itself.
It sits on a revolving base and the camera is ball shaped and also pivots on the sides to tilt up and down.
On the bottom are status lights.
On the sides are the speakers.
At the back are two little antennas..
And we have the ethernet port, micro SD card slot and micro USB slot for the power supply.
On this side is the reset button.
On the bottom is a 1/4 inch thread screw hole to attach the camera to the bracket or to a camera tripod if you want.
Now, let’s set it up and plug it in. The instructions tell you to hook up the camera to your router using the included ethernet cable to initially set up the C1 Pro.
Download the Reolink app and register if you haven’t done it yet. Make sure your phone is connected to your WiFi network. Plugging in the camera directly to the router will make it appear automatically in the devices list in the app.
Click on the new camera thumbnail that pops up.
Click uninitialized device.
Synchronize the time using your phone’s time
Click next.
Name your camera and create a new password.
Setup should be complete but we still need to setup the WiFi.
Go to the camera’s setting and click WiFi..
Click the WiFi network you want to connect to and type in your password.
Then, you can unplug the camera from the router.
Now, let’s check out the settings…
Go to the gear icon on the upper right…
where we have device info and turning on or off push notification..
The we have the share button if you want to share the camera with your family and friends. They will need to download the app also.
Then, we have the WiFi which we set up earlier and the network status.
There is the display setting which gives you the options of the overlay information on your camera like the date and time and the camera’s name.
It also has the option to flip the camera’s image up or down and left or right like if you are installing it in the ceiling.
Then there is the anti flicker which increases or decreases frequency.
and there is an advance tab which you can basically play with the exposure, white balance, night vision and backlight.
Then, we have quality which in clear mode you can set the resolution up to the max 2560×1440 and you can even change the frame rate which defaults to 15 but you can change it from 2 to 30 fps. You can also play around with the bit rate.
And on the fluent mode which is the lower resolution which you use it mostly when the internet is slow or using the data plan on your phone.
Save it and go back.
Then, we have the storage options where you can set a recording schedule..to record on motion only or you can set it to record certain hours of the day or even 24/7.
Then, we have record settings…overwrite or loop recording, prerecord which it will record before the motion and record extension which will continue recording for 15 minutes after motion is detected.
We have the SD card which shows the status of the card and you can also format the card if needed.
Then, we have the motion detection settings which I am surprised the only option is sensitivity which you can schedule on different time frames of the day. No activity zones options.
Then, we have the infrared lights turn on or off.
Email notification settings and email scheduling. Then there is push schedule where you can schedule the time frames you want to get notified.
Then we have the alarm sound when motion is detected.
On the system, there is the video standard option NTSC or PAL, date and time restore and reboot options.
On the main camera’s view.. we can take a snap shot or record the footage which will be stored directly to your phone’s album.
We have the viewing option which you can choose fluent, balance or clear. Clear is the highest resolution as you set in the settings earlier and fluent is the low resolution one. Please note that even if it is in fluent mode, the recorded footage itself is still in the highest resolution. You set it to fluent mode so that you can view the camera’s footage if you have limited internet like you are just using your phone’s data plan.
We then have the color or black and white option or just set it to auto.
You can also view the camera in landscape mode..
Then, we have the mic for 2 way communication which is more handsfree and not push to talk. I’ll demo this later on.
We have the clip which zooms in an area of the footage.
Then, we have the PTZ control which you can control the camera’s pan and tilt using the joy stick. It is slow in moving and is pretty quiet and beacuse everything is black it is barely noticeable. I have to fast forward it a bit so you can see the 355 degrees panning and tilt of 105 degrees.
We also have the auto mode if you want the panning to be done automatically.
You can also program it to mark areas that you want to be monitored and with a tap, the camera will automatically go to the programmed area.
Let’s say I’ll name this position TV
then we will go to position 2…and I’ll name this kitchen..
then we will try tilting up..and save this as the fan position.
And you will see at the bottom are the saved positions and just tap it for the camera to go to the marked areas. I like this feature better than motion tracking. It would be nice if this can then be automated so that the camera will automatically go to the marked areas.
Let’s put in the micro SD card and we will check out some footage.
Let’s check out the motion alert notification speed and the cool off period…
That is fast…
So the Reolink C1 pro has instant motion notification and the cool off is pretty short around a minute…so the camera will alert you every minute while motion persists.
2 way communication is pretty good with this camera. It is loud and clear on both sides and also the recorded footage will have both side’s audio as well.
I do have a couple of gripes . First this blue status light. More than half of this video are about the settings… there are a lot that you can change on the settings but they forgot to put an on or off switch for this blue light..might be an oversight…for now, it can be easily covered with an electrical tape.
Another one is when connecting with your phone’s internet data or if your WiFi signal is weak. Here, I only have 2 bars. You need to have a strong signal just to be able to access the camera.
Most of the time it will not connect. One way to improve this is to set the camera viewing to fluent or balanced instead of clear. The recorded footage will still be full HD resolution. It is just viewing the footage from your phone that will have a lower resolution so that you will be able to connect. I think Reolink can still make this better because I have no issues connecting to my Argus 2 even if it is set to clear.
Overall, this camera is a pretty good choice if you are looking for a pan and tilt security camera that has instant alert notifications, local or FTP recording storage which means no monthly fees and excellent video quality day or night.